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Upon his arrival, Mr. Douglas Craig McTavish, a lay missionary and minister for the Presbyterian Church, realized that the town of McMurray was in need of a school for the children. He immediately set about making this happen. On September 25, 1912, the McMurray District School Board No. 2833 was officially established. Mr. McTavish's new bride, Cassia Patton McTavish, a trained teacher, was hired to take on the role as McMurray's first schoolteacher.

Fort McMurray Schools Today

As a boomtown for the oilsands industry, the population and the town of Fort McMurray have increased extensively. 100 years later, there are now 13 Public Schools, including an Islamic School, a Christian School, an outreach school, and several bilingual and French Immersion schools. Our community also has 10 Catholic Schools and a Catholic School Board that came into being in 1936.

This virtual exhibit will display the changes, improvements, additions, and challenges that have been faced by the citizens of Fort McMurray and the school boards over the last century. We hope this will help us learn from the past as we press on into a new century of education in Northern Alberta.